


all we had, burned on the pyre

by SiderumInCaelo



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Movie 2: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 15:17:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16895031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SiderumInCaelo/pseuds/SiderumInCaelo
Summary: Late at night, Newt and Tina try to come to terms with Queenie's defection.





	all we had, burned on the pyre

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from "Things We Lost In the Fire" by Bastille.

It’s late when Newt finally leaves his creatures to prepare for bed.  Truth be told, he’s up far later than he needs to be, but in the aftermath of Paris keeping busy had seemed more attractive than lying alone with his thoughts.

He’s quiet as he makes his way up the steps, mindful of Jacob and Tina who had retired hours ago.  Neither had anywhere else to go in England or were in any shape to find their own last-minute lodgings, so Newt had given Jacob his own bedroom and Tina the guest room, leaving him the old sleeping quarters in his suitcase.

He ducks into the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a quick shower – he has rigged up some rudimentary running water in the case, but nothing beats real plumbing.  Once he’s dry and dressed he leaves, intending to go straight back downstairs, but he notices a band of light spilling out from under the guest room door.

He doesn’t hear any sound coming from the room – in fact, the only thing he hears at all is Jacob’s muffled snoring – and he tries to convince himself that Tina just fell asleep with the light on, but he can’t silence the nagging suspicion that, like him, Tina’s finding it hard to sleep after Paris.

He knocks softly on the door, not wanting to wake her if she is asleep.  When he doesn’t get a response, he pushes the door open slowly, not wanting to leave until he’s sure she’s fine.

He’s not sure what he was expecting – her fast asleep despite his worries, or perhaps engrossed in a book – but it certainly wasn’t Tina, still fully dressed, standing in the centre of the room flinging a dinner plate at the wall, with shards already scattered across the floor.

He steps into the room and closes the door behind him, hopefully before the noise can wake Jacob.  That gets Tina’s attention, and she whirls around to face him, fast enough that she has to put an arm out to keep her balance.

Her face goes very red as she stares at Newt, but no words seem to be forthcoming.

“Is what you usually do when you can’t sleep?” Newt asks, trying for a little levity.

It seems to unfreeze Tina, at least.  She pulls her wand out and vanishes the shards and remaining plates.  “You startled me,” she says.  “I didn’t think you were still up, and I put a Silencing Charm on the room so I wouldn't wake Jacob.  I just needed to –” she falters, shrugging her shoulders.

“Break things?” Newt finishes, and she nods.  “Did it help?”

“Not really,” she sighs, and Newt sees her shoulders slump.

Newt cautiously walks closer to her, unsure if she wants the company, but she doesn’t object or edge away.  “It’s about Queenie, isn’t it?” he says.

No one’s mentioned her name since Paris, but it hasn’t stopped her from weighing heavily and obviously on everyone’s minds.  Tina is still for so long that Newt begins to regret bringing Queenie up, but she finally speaks. 

“How could she join him?  After everything he’s done, what he stands for – just, _how_?” she pleads.

“Grindelwald’s manipulated a lot of people,” Newt tries, but Tina cuts him off.

“She’s a mind reader,” she says flatly.  “Even if Grindelwald knows Occlumency I doubt all his followers do.  She knew _exactly_ what she was getting into, and yet she _still_ joined him!”  Her voice rises in volume at these last words, and she starts pacing, her hands clenching and unclenching.

“Do you want more plates to throw?” Newt offers.

“Yes,” Tina barks, but then stops and turns to look at him.  “No.  I don’t know what I want.  I don’t even know if I want Queenie to come back,” she admits.

“I mean, I want her to leave Grindelwald,” she clarifies.  “I don’t want anyone to be helping him.  But –” 

She starts pacing again, slower this time, like she’s gathering her thoughts.

“She’s my sister and I love her but – even if she comes back tomorrow, says it was all a mistake, it won’t ever be the same.  To support what Grindelwald’s doing, I don’t know if I can forgive that.  I don’t know if I _should_ forgive that,” she finishes.

She looks so forlorn, and maybe Theseus is rubbing off on him because all Newt can think to do is walk over and wrap her in a hug. 

It takes a few seconds, but Tina returns the gesture, gripping the back of his shirt tightly.  “I miss her,” she mumbles into his shoulder.  “I already miss her but I’m so _angry_ at her for doing this to me, to Jacob, to everyone.”

“I know,” Newt says, remembering the mix of concern and disappointment he had felt for Leta after the Jarvey incident, and his heart tightens at all the explanations neither of them will ever be able to give, now.  “I’m sorry.”

She clings to him long enough for Newt to muse that this is probably the most physical contact he’s had since childhood, and that it’s not nearly as awkward as he would’ve expected, before Tina pulls away and quickly swipes at her cheeks.

“You should get some rest,” he says.

“Because everything will look better in the morning?” she asks, and the skepticism is only slightly undercut by the wetness still in her eyes. 

“I’m afraid the morning will look much the same regardless,” Newt replies.  “But at least this way you’ll be well-rested.”

“Suppose you’re right,” she admits, even giving him a faint smile.  “Good night, Newt.”

He opens his mouth to respond but notices a bit of Tina’s hair is sticking out behind her ear.  Before he can think better of it, he reaches out and tucks it back.  “Good night, Tina,” he returns, then steps out of the room.

As he goes back down the stairs, he realizes that he, at least, feels better for their conversation, and he hopes Tina does too.

**Author's Note:**

> Indoor showers didn't actually become common until later in the century, so lets just say that wizards adopted them earlier.


End file.
